


Winteriron Prompt Fills - 2018

by 27dragons



Series: imaginetonyandbucky fills [16]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-15 00:41:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16923354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/27dragons/pseuds/27dragons
Summary: Short (under 3000 word) prompt fills originally written for the imaginetonyandbucky blog during 2018. (Prompt fills over 3000 words, or co-written withtisfanare posted as standalone fics; everything is listed in theImagine Tony and Buckycollection.) The prompts, along with rating and applicable warnings, are provided in the chapter summary for each fic.





	1. 11-Jan-2018: Arranged Marriage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Rating:** T
> 
>  **Prompt:** Imagine Howard and Maria arranging Tony's marriage. Howard wants to secure Stark military connections because he sees how Tony prefers clean energy and communications tech. Tony hates the idea but is ambushed by their first choice, an army sergeant named James Barnes, who Maria made sure was actually his type. --shitsgotwheels
> 
>  **Warnings:** None

“This is ridiculous,” Tony complained, crossing his arms over his chest. “No one actually arranges marriages anymore!”

“If I leave it up to you,” Howard spat, “you’ll just spend all your time partying with your friends instead of looking for a suitable partner. Or worse, marrying some peacenik hippie throwback who’s in love with all those clean energy pipe dreams of yours. No, I need to make sure your foot is well and truly nailed to the floor,  _before_  you go back to school in the fall. Career military, someone distinguished but not too highly placed – wouldn’t want to make it look like we’re marrying our way into the contracts, of course. But someone with connections. I’ll see to it. You,” he instructed Tony severely, “will keep your damn mouth shut and do what I damn well tell you to do.”

Howard stormed out of the room, and Maria lingered only long enough to squeeze Tony’s arm in an approximation of comfort. “I’ll do what I can,” she promised. It was an empty promise, though; once set upon his course, Howard could not be moved.

***

True to his word, it was only a week later when Howard summoned Tony to his office once again and slid a thin dossier across the desk. “Your mother went out of her way to push for someone who suits your tastes, as if that matters. But for her sake, if no other, I expect you not to make a fool of us,” Howard growled.

Tony flipped the folder open and skimmed the scant information there. “A sergeant?” he demanded. “You couldn’t even find an  _officer_  willing to take one for the team?” His eyes flicked over the page again. “He’s not even active duty!” Tony’s stomach sank; at least with an active duty spouse, he could look forward to their deployments, use the business as an excuse to stay behind and work. Someone who was retired was likely to stay at home and – if Howard had his way – spend all their time haranguing Tony to make weapons.

“Your mother seems to think someone younger would suit you better than a man of experience,” Howard sneered. “But Sergeant Barnes has ties all the way up the chain to the top brass; he personally saved the life of General Phillips on their last tour, earning himself a medical discharge in the process. And he’s close personal friends with Captain Rogers, one of the most decorated men the Army has to offer.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Maybe I should marry Captain Rogers, if you like him so much.”

“Maybe you should learn to keep that smart mouth closed,” Howard snarled. “There are plenty more candidates who will jump at the chance to tie themselves to the Stark fortune. I suggest that you do your best to impress Sergeant Barnes, or you’ll find out just how much your mother’s protection means. Understood?”

If Barnes didn’t agree to marry Tony, he translated to himself, Howard would shackle him instead to an ugly old asshole, like Colonel Schmidt, whose gaunt, ruddy face, constant leer, and storied cruelty made him the stuff of nightmares.

***

In person, Sergeant Barnes was younger than Tony expected, not much past thirty, and very handsome, which Tony expected was Maria’s hand at work. His left sleeve was empty and pinned up, and he was wearing civilian dress, but when General Phillips introduced him around, his spine was excruciatingly straight as he shook Howard’s hand. He didn’t unbend much when Tony was introduced, either, though at least his handshake was warm and firm, not some neanderthal show of strength. His eyes were stormcloud grey, or maybe dark blue, in the light of the entry hall.

Maria fluttered. “Come on, now, let’s give the young men a chance to exchange a few words,” she said, tucking her arm through Howard’s and drawing him toward the parlor. “Anthony, Sergeant Barnes would enjoy the small library, don’t you think? General, let us give you a glass or two of that brandy you enjoyed so much the last time we met,” she continued, turning to the general.

Phillips didn’t seem inclined to say no, but he paused long enough to give Barnes a long, speaking look. Maria caught Tony’s eye from behind the general and  _winked_  at him, as if they were conspiring together. What the hell was that about?

Barnes nodded sharply at Phillips, as if he was acknowledging an order, but didn’t move until the parlor door had closed. Then he sagged as if someone had cut all his strings and blew out a breath.

“So, the small library,” Tony said, pulling on his press face. Howard and Phillips would have drawn up the betrothal contract before they emerged from the parlor. He might as well accept it gracefully – at least until he found out what sort of man he was being shackled to.

He led the way without watching to see if Barnes would follow, but the quick click of dress shoes against the polished floor told Tony all he needed to know. He pushed open the door to the small library – his preferred study spot, aside from his workshop, and he rather resented his mother for pressing this invader into it – and made his way to the pair of leather armchairs under the far window, which overlooked the gardens.

“Can I get you something to drink?” Tony asked politely.

Barnes ignored the chairs and went to the window, looking out at the garden. He licked his lips and swallowed visibly, then looked back around at the library, those dark eyes flicking from the desk with its computer to the stack of engineering books on the side, to the tall shelves lining the room. He swallowed, and finally looked at Tony again. “Anthony,” he said softly.

“It’s Tony,” Tony interrupted. “Only Mom ever calls me Anthony, unless I’m in trouble.”

Barnes’ lips curved slightly at that, but he still looked like a deer caught in a floodlight. “Tony,” he corrected. “Look, I… I’ll be honest. I’m out of my depth. General Phillips is doin’ me a favor, an’ I appreciate it, but I’ve never seen any place like this. I don’t know what I’m supposed t’be doin’, here.”

Tony cocked his head, attracted against his will to Barnes’ candor. He’d expected some kind of smooth-talking charmer, or a rough-and-ready braggart. “Well, you have a number of options available to you,” he said. “You can pretend to care about my studies and plans, or you can try to lay down the law and tell me what you expect of me.”

Barnes’ eyebrows went up, and that ghost of a smile got a little bigger. “ _Try_?” he asked. “Somethin’ tells me you wouldn’t take well to that.”

“I wouldn’t,” Tony agreed, though he had to fight a grin. “My dad wants me controlled, and he thinks a spouse will do the trick. I’m not interested in being controlled, and I’m a lot more stubborn than anyone else I’ve ever met.”

“I could take that as a challenge,” Barnes warned. There was a light in his eyes – amusement or provocation, Tony wasn’t sure. “Now I’m definitely interested in what it is you’re doin’ that your dad don’t like.”

“Not weapons,” Tony said defiantly. “So nothing a soldier would care about.”

Barnes tipped his own head. “I ain’t a soldier anymore,” he said, “an’ I ain’t so dumb I think the only thing the military needs is more and better bombs. Try me, genius.”

Tony tipped his chin up. “Green energy. Miniaturized arc reactors.”

“Arc reactors… like the one in the lobby of Stark Tower in New York?”

“You know it?”

“Sure,” Barnes said. “I’m from Brooklyn. The whole city was in a hoopla when that thing got installed. How small is ‘miniaturized’, and what kinda power are you talkin’?”

“Oh. My. God,” Tony breathed. “Are you a  _nerd_ , Barnes?”

Barnes flushed. “Call me Bucky,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “That’s what my friends call me.”

Tony lifted an eyebrow. “Are we friends, now?”

Bucky’s flush turned darker, but he managed to look Tony in the face. “God, I hope so.”

Tony considered it. “What about Phillips, then?” he asked. “I’m sure he had some instructions for you. This is a political match, there’s no getting around that.”

“Sure,” Bucky agreed. “Phillips wants that contact with SI, something he can use for leverage when he’s negotiating contracts. But to my mind, they don’t have to be weapons contracts. They could just as easily be for… I dunno, what d’ya want to make? Better body armor? More reliable comms? Transport trucks? Aircraft?”

It was like setting off a chain of dominoes; with each suggestion Bucky made, a dozen ideas sparked behind Tony’s eyes of things he could try, things that would be more efficient, less prone to failure, safer, faster. He could see his miniaturized arc reactors providing power for a dozen, a hundred different applications. He could see smoother lift for VTOL aircraft. He could see advances in medicine, in prosthetics, in search and rescue… “Yes,” he gasped. “All of the above.”

Bucky grinned, then, bright and happy. “Well, see, then? Soldiers need a whole lot of stuff that ain’t weapons. You won’t be lettin’ anyone down.”

“Except my dad,” Tony said.

Bucky stepped closer to Tony, then, carefully closing the distance between them. “Well, now,” he drawled softly, “if we’re married, I reckon you don’t have to answer to him anymore.”

Tony looked up, just a little, to meet Bucky’s eyes. “No,” he said. “I don’t expect I will.”

Bucky’s hand came up to cup Tony’s jaw. was shaking, a fine tremor under the skin. “God, look at you,” he whispered. “They told me how smart you are, how rich, how important… But no one told me you were so damn gorgeous. I’m sorry you’re getting the short end of this stick, but I ain’t sorry enough to turn you loose.”

Tony shook his head, the specter of his father’s threat lurking behind him, and the bright, happy joy of  _creation_  in front of him. This man, Bucky, he was clever and handsome and – so far, at least – gentle, and he could be Tony’s muse. “I don’t see any short ends,” he said. “I don’t see any ends at all.”

“Will you be mine then?” Bucky asked, drawing even closer, until Tony could feel the warm spill of his breath. “An’ let me be yours?”

Bucky was asking. Even though Tony’s parents and General Philips were already putting ink to the betrothal agreement, even though they didn’t, either of them, have a choice. Bucky was  _asking_ , and if this kept up, Tony thought that maybe, someday not too distant, he might find he’d actually fallen in love with his husband. “Yes,” Tony said, and closed the last of the distance between them to kiss his fiancé.


	2. 23-Jan-2018: Prince and the Pea AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Rating:** M
> 
>  **Prompt:** Prince and the pea au? Sort of? Somehow nobody in castle stark believes the muddy long haired weirdo Bucky, who barges in one stormy night, is a prince, and they have him sleep on a tower of mattresses with a smol pea underneath his entire stay. His back pains are not actually from the vegetable; he's been exchanging ddoe eyes with prince tony who's been sneaking in and riding him like a pogo stick. --Anonymous
> 
>  **Warnings:** None

“I can’t believe you’re going to give me away at a tourney like a bag of gold,” Prince Anthony complained. “There must be some law against this.”

“I  _am_  the law, boy,” thundered King Howard, “and don’t you forget it. Perhaps we wouldn’t have to resort to such drastic measures if you hadn’t taken it into your head to be so damned  _picky_.”

Tony wasn’t  _picky_. He just didn’t want to be saddled with a royal consort who would try to treat him the way Howard treated Tony’s mother. He wanted something more like what the head butler, Jarvis, had with his beloved wife.

“Don’t fret, darling,” Queen Maria chided. “You’ll ruin your complexion. You should be grateful; at least you don’t have a curse or a quest. You could be locked in some stuffy tower, or scouring the countryside for magic beans or trying to kill a dragon or a troll.”

Tony thought he wouldn’t mind a nice, quiet tower for a year or two. At least then he’d have time to work on his projects. As long as it wasn’t a sleeping curse. Those were the  _worst_. And wandering the countryside to fulfill a quest sounded a lot more appealing than staying here and being handed over to the biggest brute who bothered to show up for the tourney.

He opened his mouth to argue – Tony almost  _always_  argued, whether or not it was wise to do so – but was interrupted by a loud, ominous booming sound.

“We really  _must_  replace that door knocker,” Maria sighed. She brushed the wrinkles out of her gown and sat up straighter on her throne. Howard just scowled.

Presently, Jarvis arrived, trailed by a man who was wearing more mud than clothing. “Prince James of Brooklyn,” he announced, and bowed himself out of the room before Howard could object.

“Forgive the intrusion,” Prince James said. His bow was a little awkward. His hair was certainly not at all in fashion, hanging limply to his shoulders, though perhaps that was merely the fault of the mud. At least he was tall, and his eyes were silvery gray, like the finest steel. “I was coming to participate in the tourney three days hence, but I was set upon by robbers. They took my horse, my sword, my money, and all my fine things, and threw me in a ditch. I can only throw myself upon your mercy and beg for lodgings.”

 ****Howard’s glower was suspicious, and even Maria’s usually smooth expression was marred by distaste. “How well do you think you’d do at the tourney if you couldn’t even best a few robbers?” Howard demanded.

James was uncowed, which was certainly a point in his favor. “There were rather a lot of them,” he explained. “And if I may be so bold, the tourney’s prize is more worth the fight.” He glanced at Tony with the faintest of smiles curving his lips. “All I ask, your Highness, is the hospitality of the palace for a few days, until my royal brother arrives to watch.”

“If you’re telling the truth,” Howard sniffed.

Tony generally disagreed with his father on general principle, but he had to admit, James did not currently look very princely.

Well, they had ways of testing that, didn’t they? And it was one way to escape his father’s lecturing. “Shall I show him to one of the guest chambers, then?” Tony asked.

“What an excellent idea,” Maria said, giving Tony a significant look. “He’ll do well in the Pea Room, I think.”

Tony bowed to his mother, and sketched something like a bow in his father’s direction. “Follow me,” he told James.

The Pea Room was decorated in a pale green, and the walls had been hand-painted with twining sweetpea flowers. But the real reason for the name of the room was the enchanted pea they kept under the pile of feather-stuffed mattresses on the bed. None of royal blood would be able to sleep in such a bed, for the discomfort the pea caused.

Tony eyed Prince James from the corner of his eye as he led the way through the halls. James was tall and well-built, under all the mud, and– “Is that an arm of metal?”

James put his hand over the arm as if he could hide it. “It’s my curse,” he explained.

“You’re cursed, but not captive?” Tony asked, fascinated. He’d never heard of such a thing.

James looked away. “I was held captive by the Hydra for… a long time. I finally escaped when my brother and his knights stormed its lair. But I didn’t want to marry either of the knights, so I decided to seek my fortune in a quest, instead.”

That was  _so_  much better than a stupid tourney! Tony ushered James into the Pea Room and rang for the servants to bring a bath and clothes and food for James, and then lingered to ask, “Why didn’t you want to marry the knights?”

James hesitated in the midst of removing his shirt. “Truth?” he said, almost whispering. “I think they would prefer to marry each other.”

“Oh, how romantic,” Tony sighed.

James laughed. “Perhaps a bit,” he admitted. He finished undressing and stepped into the bath. As the layers of mud sloughed off, James was revealed as beautiful and strong. Tony was hard pressed not to stare, and to continue making small talk as James finished bathing.

Tony snuck another peek as James stepped out of the tub and reached for a robe. By the Four Fairies, he was beautiful. But was he kind? The story of the knights seemed to suggest so.

James looked around the room, frowning, and then with his metal arm, reached under the mattresses to withdraw the Pea. “I  _knew_  there was magic in here,” he muttered.

“The arm detects magic?” Tony guessed.

“After a fashion,” James said, attention on the Pea as he rolled it gently between two metal fingers. “What does it do?”

“No one of royal birth can sleep on it, no matter how many layers of bedding there are,” Tony admitted.

James pulled a face. “I’m not actually of royal birth,” he admitted. Tony’s stomach sank in disappointment. “But I  _am_  a prince!” James continued, urgent. “My brother – he’s the one who was born to it. But we were inseparable as children, and when I saved his life, he rewarded me with a title and a place at court. And when his wife proved barren, he made me his brother and heir. I may not have been born to it, but the title is mine, I swear!”

He seemed very determined to convince Tony of his credentials, which was flattering. “I believe you,” Tony promised. He wanted to visit this kingdom of Brooklyn; it sounded like a fascinating place. In the meantime, there was the question of the Pea to consider. “And I believe I have an idea, if you are amenable.”

At James’ curious look, Tony grinned and began to unlace his shirt. “I know of other ways to disturb your rest,” he said. “Much more pleasant ones.”

***

James was late to breakfast in the morning, and when he finally made his appearance, there were dark circles under his eyes and bruises on his throat and collarbone, clearly visible under the open collar of his shirt.

Maria fluttered when she saw. Howard simply snorted, but he resumed eating his own breakfast, apparently content that he hadn’t given the hospitality of the palace to a mere commoner.

“Oh, dear, James, are you unwell?” Maria asked, perhaps a touch too happily.

“I’m not so ill-bred as to speak poorly of hospitality given,” James said, “but that bed’s got a mighty lump in it.”

“Here,” Maria said solicitously, “take my seat, here next to Anthony. It’s the softest, and I was just finishing.” She all but dragged James to her chair.

James thanked her, then turned to Tony. “And did you rest well, sweet prince?”

“The finest of my life,” Tony swore. It was even true. The Pea’s power could not be blocked by any amount of feathers or fine cotton, but Tony had fallen into a doze on James’ chest between rounds, and felt not even a twinge from the Pea. Better, he had woken to James stroking his hair and skin, tender and solicitous and sweet. Tony thought wouldn’t mind waking up that way every morning… or enjoying the princely ride that James had given him beforehand.

“We’ll get you a better bed tonight,” he promised James. “After all, we want you to be at your best for the tourney.”


	3. 19-Mar-2018: Skrull Bucky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Rating:** T
> 
>  **Prompt:** Imagine if Tony and Bucky are in love with each other, but haven’t said anything because they both think they’re not good enough for each other. Imagine that Bucky is replaced with a shapeshifter/double of some kind and this double starts a relationship w/ Tony (no sex with double, please, too close to noncon). Team figures it out after some time and rescue Bucky. Tony is broken hearted and embarassed because now everybody knows that he’s in love with Bucky. Happy ending, please! --Anonymous
> 
>  **Warnings:** None

Their first date was magical. They went to dinner at a quiet little greasy-spoon diner down in the city, and then walked to a nearby park – not Central Park, but one of the smaller parks that dotted the city – to stroll along the paths and talk.

Bucky kept Tony tucked into the curve of his arm the whole time, and he listened, really  _listened_   while Tony rambled on about every little thing – SI, the bots, dumb stories about Rhodey, the upgrades he was making for the team. He never seemed to get bored, and the times Tony tried to get him to talk, too, he gave Tony the most adorable, shy look and said, “Aw, I like listenin’ to you, doll.”

When they got back to the Tower, Bucky pinned Tony against the wall next to the elevator, leaning in close enough for Tony to feel his breath–

–and Natasha’s voice came out of the speaker over their heads. “Sorry, boys, but we’ve got a Level Four emergency here. I need Tony on the double.”

“Party pooper,” Tony growled.

“Hey, you’re lucky this didn’t hit an hour ago while you were still at dinner,” Natasha said. “Meet me in Conference Room Six.”

Bucky chuckled at Tony’s sigh. “It’s okay, doll,” he said. “What we get for bein’ heroes, right? Go on, I’ll catch up with you later.” He backed away, not letting go of Tony’s hand until the last second, not looking away from Tony’s face until the elevator doors closed between them.

Why had they waited so long for this?

Tony was nothing if not flexible, though, able to change plans on the fly, so by the time he got to Conference Room Six, he was in full battle mode. “What’s the situation?” he demanded as he pushed through the doors. “Where and who and how?”

Natasha and Steve were the only ones in the room waiting for him, which was odd. A Level Four emergency usually called for at least five team members. “Guys?”

Steve glanced at Natasha, then squared his shoulders as he turned back to Tony. “That’s not Bucky.”

“What?”

“He sprained his wrist in the fight this morning,” Natasha said. “I saw it – awkward landing after one of those weird ‘bots threw him. But he’s not even favoring it.”

“Super-soldiers heal fast,” Tony said, looking between them and halfway to panic, because no, this could not be happening. No, no, and no.

“Not that fast,” Steve said sympathetically. “It was enough to make us suspicious, so while you were out, we rigged up some detectors over the door.”

No no no nonono. “Don’t say it,” Tony begged.

“He’s a Skrull,” Natasha said gently.

Tony gave in to the urge to whine. “No. I told you not to say it.” He dropped into a chair and put his head on his arms. “Things were going so  _well_.” Bucky  _had_  been urging Tony to keep talking, hadn’t he? Pumping him for information. God damn it.

“At least we figured it out before you invited him back up to your place,” Natasha said.

Tony shuddered. Small blessings.

***

Capturing the Bucky-Skrull was pretty easy, because he didn’t know they were on to him. Keeping him from committing suicide when he realized he’d been captured was a little harder.

And getting him to spill the information about where the Skrulls had stashed the real Bucky, that was hardest of all.

Luckily, Tony was feeling vindictive. Even Natasha looked impressed when Tony finally strode out of the containment cell, and Steve looked a little green, even if his jaw was set with righteous anger.

Tony begged off the rescue mission itself, though. They didn’t need a heavy hitter, and Tony had to do some cleanup to make sure the things he’d told the Bucky-Skrull didn’t compromise the team. Besides, he wasn’t sure he could look the real Bucky in the face, now that the whole team knew how pathetically eager Tony had been for a date with him.

And if he was locked in the workshop for a day or two when they got back, well, he was a very busy person. It was enough to know that Bucky was recovered, and safe. Tony only watched the video of them returning long enough to make sure they all walked cleanly past the Skrull-detector, and to see that Bucky was relatively unharmed. And maybe just a little longer to be sure.

He definitely turned it off the instant Bucky looked around the common area with a frown and said, “Where’s Stark?” Tony didn’t need to hear the answer to that, or see Bucky’s relieved reaction. He’d give it a few days, maybe a week or so, and things would go back to normal.

***

“Heya, Tony.”

Tony nearly jumped right out of his skin. “Holy mother of Tesla,” he gasped, clutching at his racing heart. “How the hell did you get in here?”

“I’m an assassin,” Bucky reminded him. “Breaking and entering is part of the skillset.” He seemed to consider it for a moment, then added, “Plus, JARVIS likes me.”

“JARVIS, you traitor.”

“Yes, sir,” JARVIS agreed blithely. “My perfidy knows no bounds.”

“Sass,” Tony grumbled. He swiped his monitor shut. “What can I do for you, Klondike?”

“M’arm’s pinchin’,” Bucky mumbled. “Reckon something needs to be loosened. Or tightened. Or somethin’.”

“Yeah, okay, step into my parlor,” Tony agreed, waving at the workbench. This was easy, this was simple. Mechanics, he could do this.

Except that once he had the arm opened up and was reaching for a screwdriver, Bucky said, “Was it at least good?”

Tony blinked. “What?”

“The other me,” Bucky clarified. “When he took ya out. Was it good?”

“Sure, it was fine,” Tony said. “Hamburgers and a walk in the park. Nothing to complain about.”

“I could do better,” Bucky said.

“No doubt,” Tony agreed. He tightened the loose circuit board. “Caviar and horse-drawn carriages.”

Bucky went oddly still. “Is… that what you’d want?”

“What? No, I was just…” Tony waved a hand indistinctly.

“‘Cause I got tickets for a battle bots show,” Bucky said, “and reservations at Tia Lucia’s.”

Tony looked up sharply. “Tia Lucia’s is the place with the cannoli,” he said, not quite making it a question.

Bucky nodded. “They make the best gnocci, too,” he said.

“I,” said Tony carefully, “am very confused.”

“I’m askin’ you out,” Bucky said. “On a date.”

“Why?” Tony demanded. “Why  _now?_  Are you actually the Skrull? Did you break out of confinement?”

“I’m not the Skrull, Tony, I promise. We can go walk through the detector right now if you want.” Bucky held up his hand, placating. “I just… I’ve wanted to ask you out for a long time, but I didn’t think you’d go for it.”

“Seriously?”

“I swear,” Bucky said. “When they told me what happened, I thought – well, now I know. I’ve been tryin’ to get in to see you for  _days_.”

“Because you want to ask me out.”

“Yes.”

Tony let out an aggrieved sigh, and finished closing Bucky’s arm back up in silence. Thinking. Trying to decide if it was worth being upset about, or if he should just appreciate the opportunity. When he was done, he tossed the screwdriver on the table. “Ask me again.”

Bucky gave him a wary, hopeful look. “Tony, will you go out with me?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah?” Bucky smiled. It was a beautiful thing, that smile.

“Yeah,” Tony said. “And this time, I’m not paying attention to any emergency calls.”


	4. 28-Apr-2018: One Night Stand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Rating:** T
> 
> **Prompt:** Tony’s male “one night stand” throws Bucky for a loop. He’s been hopelessly pining over Tony since he assumed Tony was straight. Now that there’s proof he isn’t, and because the “one night stand” ends up sticking around for a few days, Bucky gets a lil jealous. Turns out the guy isn’t actually one of Tony’s lovers (maybe he used to be? but now just a friend visiting) and sees that Bucky is just as blind as Tony is to their mutual attraction. He plots and succeeds in helping them get together. xo --Anonymous
> 
> **Warnings:** None

Bucky was alone in the kitchen and had just dug into breakfast when Tony came into the kitchen, sleep-tousled and adorable, sleep pants riding low on his hips and thin tee hugging his shoulders. He mumbled a greeting and beelined for the coffee.

Bucky took a bite of his food, not even sure what it was, watching Tony from under his eyelashes, just like he did every morning.

Then Quill came in, wearing nothing but boxers and one of Tony’s band tees, and Bucky’s brain stuttered to a halt.

_What._

Quill looked smug. Smugger than usual, which was really saying something, because he was a smug bastard at the best of times. He glanced around the room, and his smile widened when he saw Bucky, for some reason. He came up behind Tony, resting his hands on Tony’s hips and leaning over Tony’s shoulder to whisper something that was probably meant to be private but which Bucky’s enhanced hearing had no problem picking up: “Had a great time last night.”

What  _even_. Tony was straight. Wasn’t he?

Quill nuzzled Tony’s ear. Tony pushed Quill away, but he looked amused, not annoyed. “Get off, I can’t deal with you until I’ve had coffee.”

Quill laughed and ducked in to kiss Tony’s cheek before turning to rummage through the cabinets for his own breakfast.

No, seriously: what the  _fuck_  had just happened?

Quill brought his bowl of cereal back to the table to eat, and when he saw Bucky staring at him, he just winked.

Bucky left his breakfast unfinished, appetite gone.

***

“See?” Tony said when Bucky left. “It’s the death glare, or else he can’t stand to be in the room with me at all.”

“Oh, I see something, all right,” Peter said into his cereal. A few bites later, he said, “So, another movie night tonight?”

***

Bucky punched the elevator call button and leaned against the wall, exhausted from his workout and somewhat calmer for it.

“Oh, hey!” Quill said, coming from the opposite direction. His stupid hair was a mess, but at least he was in his own clothes this time. “Sorry about this morning, didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable with all the PDA.”

“I wasn’t uncomfortable,” Bucky said between his teeth.

“Oh, well, that’s good,” Quill said cheerfully. “‘Cause me and Tony, we go back, you know? We’re tight.” He crossed his fingers and waggled his eyebrows lasciviously. “It’s too bad the Guardians don’t make it to Earth that often. I’d love to see more of him. More often, I mean. It’s pretty hard to see more of  _him_  than I already have, if you know what I mean.” He nudged Bucky with his elbow, grinning.

“I think I’ll take the stairs,” Bucky gritted, turning away.

***

Bucky stood outside the workshop, watching Tony work through the glass walls. He was beautiful all the time, but especially here, in his element, in his domain. He manipulated holograms and projections with fluid gestures, like some kind of wizard from a fairy tale. He slid across the floor on his wheeled chair, gesticulating as he talked to his robots. He hefted the armor onto a workbench, muscles bulging under the weight.

And Bucky could just walk in there, if he wanted. He could make up some excuse about his arm needing maintenance. Or he could bring Tony a sandwich – Tony was prone to forgetting to eat if food wasn’t immediately at hand. Or he could go in and invite Tony to go to dinner with him, maybe out dancing.

Bucky could do that. Was going to do that. As soon as he worked up the nerve.

“Whoa, hey!” said an unwelcome voice. “Didn’t expect to run into you down here!”

“Quill,” Bucky grated. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, you know Tony. He forgets to eat. Thought I’d bring him a little something.” Quill brandished a plate with a sandwich and apple slices and chips. He had a bottle of water tucked under his arm. “How about you? Got an appointment?”

“No,” Bucky admitted. “I was just–” He clamped his teeth shut on whatever he’d been about to say. He wasn’t about to admit anything to his rival.

“Oh, yeah, say no more,” Quill said. “I love watching him work, too. It’s fantastic, what he can do with even this primitive tech.”

_Primitive?_  Bucky’s lip curled into a snarl.

“Hey, whoa, no need for that,” Quill said, holding up his free hand in surrender. “Everything on Earth is pretty primitive by galactic standards, I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“If we’re so primitive,” Bucky growled, “why do you keep coming back?”

“Well, you never really forget where you came from, do you?” Quill said easily. “Besides, I’m planning to ask Tony to come back with us. Fantastic as he is here, imagine how great he’d be with the whole galaxy at his fingertips.”

Bucky had no trouble imagining it – Tony would be  _magnificent_  – but the thought of him  _leaving_  was too painful to contemplate.

“Anyway, better take this in,” Quill said. “‘Scuse me.” He shouldered past Bucky and pushed into the workshop. Bucky watched, a cold ache in the pit of his belly, as Tony looked up and greeted Quill with a bright smile.

***

Tony was leaning against the kitchen counter, waiting impatiently for the coffee to finish brewing, when Bucky came in. He looked a little wide-eyed and wild around the edges.

“Tony,” he said. “Quill’s not in here, is he?” He looked around as if expecting to see Peter jump out of the cupboards.

“No,” Tony said. “You okay, there, Tinman?”

“No. Yes. I just. I need to talk to you,” Bucky said.

“Okay…” Tony grabbed the coffee pot, poured himself a cup, and drank half of it all at once. It sounded like he was going to need it. “Okay, shoot.”

“Don’t go with him,” Bucky said. It sounded like he was pleading.

“What?”

“With Quill,” Bucky said. “I don’t… I ain’t gonna tell you who to step out with, even if I don’t know what you see in the guy, but you can’t leave us. We need you here on Earth.  _I_  need you.”

“I don’t,” Tony said carefully, “know what you’re talking about. I’m not seeing Peter, and I’m not going anywhere with him.”

“You’re not?” Bucky looked drastically relieved, and then confused. “Wait, you’re  _not_?”

“Not what?”

“Not seein’ Quill.”

“No?” Tony said. He took another gulp of coffee, and looked at Bucky closely. “I mean, we hooked up once, a couple of years ago, but we’re just friends now. He’s sort of flirty like that all the time.”

Bucky scowled thunderously. “He told me… No. He  _let me think_  you were!”

“Yeah, he thinks he’s funny someti– Wait, what difference does it make? You don’t even care!”

Bucky did something then that Tony would never have thought he’d ever see in his life: Blushed. Bucky’s entire face and neck went bright crimson, and his gaze was suddenly everywhere except on Tony. “I. Uh. I might. Care, that is.”

Well,  _that_  didn’t make any sense. Tony took another swig of his coffee and then nearly choked on it when Bucky’s meaning finally filtered through. “You care? About  _me?_ ”

Bucky’s blush got darker. “Yes.”

“Like…  _care_?” Tony couldn’t seem to move past that point.

Bucky took a deep breath and looked at Tony directly. It seemed to take some effort, as if Tony were something too bright to view directly. “Like,” he said slowly, “since you ain’t as spoken for as I thought, would you like to go to dinner with me? As a date,” he clarified. “Just t’be clear.”

“If this is a practical joke, it’s in extremely poor taste,” Tony told him. “Did Rocket put you up to this? Or Clint?”

“No one put me up to it, Tony,” Bucky said. He was looking away again. Down at his hands. “Just say no, if you’re gonna. Don’t–”

“I didn’t say no,” Tony interrupted. “I did not. I’m just. Still trying to wrap my head around this. You want to go out with me.”

“Yeah,” Bucky said. “Have for months, really. But first I thought you were straight, an’ then I thought you were with Quill, an’…” He shrugged, then peered at Tony hopefully. “If it ain’t a no, is it a yes?”

“It… Yes,” Tony said. “Yes, definitely. But I have to ask – why did you think I would leave with Peter?”

“He said… He said he was gonna ask you to,” Bucky explained.

Tony snorted. Peter  _had_  asked Tony to join the Guardians – several years ago. And Tony had turned him down then, for what were still very good reasons. And now, it seemed, he had another excellent reason to stay right here on Earth. “I do believe we’ve been set up.”

Bucky stared, then started to laugh. “He was goin’ around makin’ me jealous on purpose,” Bucky said through his laughter. “What an  _asshole_.”

“But maybe,” Tony said, “not 100% of a dick.”


	5. 30-Apr-2018: Interrupted Proposal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Rating:** T
> 
> **Prompt:** maybe on valentines day or on their anniversary Tony was planning to propose to Bucky and had everything ready but they got called in to fight the latest bad guy and when they got back they took a shower together and then Bucky finds the ring. Sorry if thats too specific. --Anonymous
> 
> **Warnings:** None

Tony stomped into the shower stall and turned the water on full-blast while Bucky was still struggling out of his gear. “This was  _not_ ,” Tony said forcefully, “how tonight was supposed to go.”

Bucky considered dumping his entire tactical uniform into the incinerator. Alien slime. Yuck. “I know, babe,” he said, stuffing the whole mess into the laundry chute, knives and guns and all. Tony’s clothes, he noted, had been left in an untidy pile on the floor. “It’s like Evil doesn’t want us to have a nice anniversary.” This was their third anniversary, and the third one in a row that had been interrupted by some world-shaking crisis.

“I had dinner,” Tony growled. “I had mood music. I had wine. I had flowers. I had  _everything planned_.”

Finally free of his beslimed gear, Bucky followed Tony into the shower. He pulled Tony close under the warm spray. “I know, doll. It’s okay. You get full credit for the attempt.”

“It is  _not_  okay,” Tony grumbled, but he let Bucky reel him in, resting his forehead against Bucky’s shoulder with a sigh. “I wanted tonight to be perfect.”

“Hey,” Bucky said. “No one got injured, and Steve let us skip the debrief. It could still be a good night.” He reached for the soap and started massaging it into Tony’s back.

“I guess,” Tony said. He hummed in appreciation as Bucky worked out the knots in his shoulders – the suit carried a lot of its own weight, but it was still  _heavy_. “Ooh, right there, mmm.”

Bucky leaned in and nibbled at Tony’s neck as he smoothed lather over Tony’s chest and stomach. “I’d even guess,” he murmured low into Tony’s ear, “that it could still be a  _very_  good night.” He ran soapy hands over the curve of Tony’s ass, teasing.

Tony swayed into Bucky’s touch and shivered a little, despite the clouds of steam rising around them. “Yeah?” He looked up at Bucky, and his pupils were wide and dark. “Yeah, okay. But we should probably be out of the showers before everyone else gets back. I don’t need another lecture.”

Bucky chuckled, wicked and low. “Okay, babydoll,” he agreed. He scrubbed his hands through his own hair to rinse out the last of the slime, then kissed Tony, a luxurious mapping of Tony’s mouth that left them both panting. “To be continued, upstairs.”

He got out of the shower and grabbed a towel to wrap around his waist so he wouldn’t drip water everywhere. There was probably a change of clothes in his locker, but why bother getting dressed when they were just going to get undressed again right away?

He picked up Tony’s clothes to send them down the laundry chute – thanks to the armor, they weren’t quite as slimy as his own gear had been – and a small box fell out of the pants pocket.

“No, wait, don’t–” Tony started, then slumped. “Damn it, this was not how it was supposed to go.”

“Tony?” Bucky’s hand shook as he picked up the little box. “Is this what I think it is?”

“Probably,” Tony said. “It wasn’t supposed to go like this, there was going to be  _romance_ , with wine and flowers and–”

“Yes,” Bucky said quickly.

“What?” Tony turned off the shower and came over to stand in front of Bucky, naked and dripping. It was a good look for him.

“I said yes,” Bucky repeated. He leaned over and kissed Tony again. “And if Evil interrupts our wedding, there will be Hell to pay.”


	6. 08-May-2018: Soldier and Mechanic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Rating:** T
> 
> **Prompt:** Winter soldier Tony and Bucky fluff (I love those prompts sorry). Steve or the team find Tony and Bucky's dynamic to be strange but mostly because Tony and Bucky had spent most of their lives being dehumanized so their interactions are nonverbal, as they began to heal though they began to experience new things together. (Actually being able to reach out and touch one another without their handlers getting mad since touching outside of maintenance is a big no-no so they're both touch-starved). So seeing as they’re getting used to actually being human the team ends up surprised when they see Bucky and Tony suddenly cuddling - at first they hadn’t realized it was a thing seeing as Bucky and Tony hid the fact they would actually hold hands or hug, their punishments were severe and being with decent human beings doesn’t mean they aren’t wary still. But, they begin to trust the team thus now they get to witness the fluff themselves. It makes Steve happy. --Anonymous
> 
> **Warnings:** None

“Mechanic!” It echoed through the lab, even as the door slammed open. The Mechanic set down his tools and stood at attention, awaiting his orders.

Three field agents were carrying the Asset. The Mechanic suppressed an expression of dismay. He had known that the Asset was going into battle with the SHIELD team known as the Avengers. He had known that the Asset might be damaged. He hadn’t expected to see the Asset  _this_  damaged. The goggles with their high-tech precision targeting system were gone, as was the facemask with its specialized filtering. The arm was dented and still sparking from some internal short. There was blood on the Asset’s side and leg. A very lot of blood.

“You will repair the arm,” the handler told him. “A medic will come soon to examine the rest of him. Stay out of the medic’s way.”

And if repairing the arm required being in the medic’s way? The Mechanic already knew the answer to that: find a way. The Mechanic nodded his understanding. He was not required to speak.

The agents laid the Asset in the maintenance chair. The Asset’s lips pressed tightly together, his skin covered in a sheen of sweat, and his eyes were wide and wild and confused until he saw the Mechanic, and then he relaxed minutely.

The Mechanic picked up the Asset’s metal hand and squeezed reassuringly.

“What are you doing?” the handler snapped.

The Mechanic did not flinch, though providing comfort to the Asset – or taking comfort from the Asset – meant punishment. Sometimes, they made the Asset administer it, though probably that would not happen this time, since the Asset was in such poor condition. The Asset’s eyes remained locked on the Mechanic. “Testing grip strength,” the Mechanic answered evenly. “Inadequate grip strength is indicative of faults in the primary cluster servos, the secondary power supply, a loss of pressure in hydraulic–”

“Shut up and just fix him,” the handler growled. “God damned Avengers.”

The Mechanic squeezed the Asset’s hand again, and bent to work. If the Asset was damaged enough, they might leave him in the Mechanic’s lab overnight.

***

The Mechanic did not look at the calendar. The Asset had been gone for nine days. The Mechanic had gone longer without seeing the Asset before. Months, sometimes years. But that was when the Asset was in storage. This time, the Asset had been taken. Kidnapped by the Avengers.

The Mechanic did his work. He did not ask whether the Asset had been badly damaged in the fight. He did not ask whether there were retrieval operations in place. These things were none of his concern. He was not worried.

When he felt – and then heard – the explosion from the front of the facility, he was not afraid. His guards left to go investigate the commotion, and the Mechanic did not hope.

When the Avengers burst into his laboratory, weapons raised, the Mechanic snatched up the energy weapon he had been upgrading and pointed it at their leader, at Captain America.

“No,” said a voice the Mechanic knew. The Mechanic looked through the weapon’s sights and saw the Asset, standing with the Avengers, as if he were one of them. “Mechanic,” he said. His eyes spoke for him. He did not want the Mechanic to hurt the Avengers.

Slowly, in confusion, the Mechanic lowered the weapon, unable to look away.

“ _Bozhe moy_ ,” the Black Widow breathed. “It’s Tony Stark.”

***

“You’re not a prisoner,” Captain America told him. “But with the remnants of Hydra out looking for you, it would be safer for you to stay indoors.” The Avengers had brought them to a safehouse. It was a large house, but still crowded with so many people in it.

The Mechanic – Tony, as the Avengers insisted – looked at the Asset. (Bucky, now.) Bucky frowned and bit his lip, the shook his head, just a little. He didn’t want Hydra to find them. The Avengers, at least, hadn’t tried to separate them, or put Bucky into storage.

There were no cells in the house, unless they converted the hidden weapons room. Tony and Bucky were to share a room. Even if there were cameras, it was a kindness. A weakness, perhaps, except that Bucky seemed ready to ally himself with the Avengers. Tony looked back at Captain America. “Understood. What are my tasks?” Bucky was watching intently.

“What? Nothing, you don’t have to do anything,” Captain America said. He seemed taken aback.

Tony kept his face impassive. No work meant no food; that had always been the rule. “Understood,” he repeated. He would work out what his error had been, soon, and then they would allow him to work.

When he was certain the Captain was done with him, he retreated to the corner of the room, crouching against the wall. Bucky moved to stand between him and the Captain.

The Captain looked like he wanted to say something, but then he shook his head and left.

Bucky crouched next to Tony against the wall, close enough that Tony could feel the heat coming off him. Tony looked surreptitiously around the room for cameras. He didn’t see any, but there might still be hidden ones. “Orders?” he asked, careful not to let his lips move.

Bucky shook his head. “I knew him,” he said.

***

They fed him, even when he didn’t work.

Tony thought it was a trick, at first, but Bucky herded Tony into a seat at the table and watched him as he wolfed down the portion they’d brought. None of the Avengers tried to take it away, though several of them exchanged looks that Tony didn’t know how to read.

Hawkeye watched them with an unnervingly steady gaze. The Black Widow stopped him with a hand on his arm and a low whisper in his ear. Tony couldn’t look away from where she was touching Hawkeye, so gently and obviously. Surely, any moment, the Captain would notice.

The Captain didn’t notice, or he didn’t care. That was… interesting.

When Bucky had finished eating – and it seemed the Avengers understood about Bucky’s increased metabolic requirements, which was good – he followed Tony back to the room they had been assigned. Slowly, hoping none of the Avengers were looking, Tony reached out and put a hand over Bucky’s human arm, just as the Black Widow had touched Hawkeye.

Bucky froze at the touch, staring at Tony with wide eyes. Tony glanced toward the door of the room, then back to Bucky. He squeezed a little.  _It’s okay_.

***

When the Black Widow approached, some days later, she stopped just outside Bucky’s reach, showed her hands, and said, “I won’t touch him, I promise,” before turning her attention to Tony.

So she knew that Bucky was protecting Tony. Probably, from the way she looked at them, she knew that it was more than a relationship of convenience. But she didn’t threaten to hurt them, or report them to the Captain, or try to use them against each other. Instead, she told Tony, “I know it’s hard to sit and do nothing for so long. I want to make it absolutely clear that you’re under no obligation, and no consequence is attached if you refuse my offer.”

Tony considered that, as Bucky shifted his weight. “What offer?” Tony asked.

“We have equipment that needs to be repaired,” she said. “Clint and I can do it, but if you’d like to help, we’d certainly appreciate your expertise.”

Tony’s hands itched for work, even without the threat of withholding his food. “Yes.” He stood up, ready to follow her to the laboratory or wherever they were doing their repairs in this safehouse.

Bucky stood as well. The Black Widow eyed him for a moment, then nodded, as if she understood. Maybe she did.

***

It was a relief to hold tools, to be useful, even if it was for the Avengers. It was a  _revelation_  to watch the Black Widow and Hawkeye working together.

They talked often, and not just about the work. They speculated idly about people they knew. Argued pointlessly about movies. Told jokes and rated them on some impossible-to-quantify scale of badness.

And they  _touched_. They touched  _constantly_. A hand on an arm or shoulder or knee. When they sat together, they touched from shoulder to knee. A kiss on the cheek or the top of the head. The Black Widow leaned into Hawkeye’s side, rested her head on his shoulder.

Tony glanced at Bucky as he worked. What would that be like, to touch so intimately on a whim?

The Captain came in, and Tony tensed, inwardly bracing for the inevitable anger. But there was none. The Black Widow didn’t even straighten from her position against Hawkeye’s side. The Captain touched, too, before he left – a hand on Hawkeye’s shoulder, a light touch of the Black Widow’s arm. He reached like he wanted to touch Bucky, but Bucky went still, and the Captain pulled back.

Hawkeye left not long after that – there was only so much maintenance a bow and quiver needed. But Tony was still working, repairing damage to someone’s armor, when the Black Widow got up to leave. “This is a safehouse,” she said before she left the room. “The cameras all point outward.” She left, then, and they were alone in the room.

“Mechanic,” Bucky said in a whisper.

“It’s Tony now,” Tony reminded him.

“I thought you didn’t want the name they gave you.” Bucky was close at Tony’s back, so close Tony could feel the warmth radiating off him.

Tony paused in his work, but didn’t look around. “If they will give us this,” he said slowly, “they can call me whatever they like.”

Bucky’s hands were on his shoulders, then, and Tony’s breath stuttered out of him. Bucky leaned forward until his weight was propped against Tony’s back, and his arms came around Tony’s chest. “Tony,” Bucky breathed.

Tony’s hands trembled, and he put his tools down quickly. He pushed back against Bucky’s bulk, let his arms reach up to wrap around Bucky’s neck. “Bucky.”

Bucky’s breath skated down Tony’s neck and they were both shaking. Tony felt the rise and fall of Bucky’s chest against his back, and it was enough, for a time. More than he had ever dared to hope for.

“I like it here,” Bucky admitted. “I want to stay with them.”

***

By the time he’d been with the Avengers for a week, Tony had learned that they preferred their names to their designations, outside of combat. Steve and Natasha and Clint and Bruce and Sam.

By then, Tony had learned that the team were friends as much as teammates. By then, Tony had learned that Bucky was considered Steve’s friend, even if Bucky could barely remember Steve.

(“I do remember him,” Bucky told Tony one night, breathing it into Tony’s skin, in the dark of their room. “It’s all jumbled up, but it makes me want to protect him.”

“Like you protect me?” Tony wondered.

Bucky shook his head. “You’re different. You’re special. You’re  _mine_.”

“But you want to protect him, too.”

“I’ve done it before. I think.”

“I’ll follow you wherever you go,” Tony promised. “Even into the Avengers.” Tony could remember nothing before Hydra. But the next day, he made some changes to the Black Wi– to Natasha’s electric disk weapons, a minor upgrade he’d been thinking about since he first saw them. She rewarded that with a warm smile and a careful touch on his arm. He was considering upgrades for all of them, now.)

That night, after dinner, Tony stood up to help clear the table – everyone took turns, even Steve – and as he passed by Bucky, Bucky brushed a hand across Tony’s back, solicitous. Tony turned to look at him, eyes wide, but Bucky just nodded slightly.

Tony swallowed hard – just because the Avengers touched each other didn’t mean he and Bucky were permitted – but no one said anything. Natasha smiled a little, Clint met Tony’s eyes but then looked away.

They were  _allowed_.

***

“You could come watch TV with us,” Steve said, leaning into the doorway of the workroom. “You don’t have to work all the time.”

Tony glanced up from Sam’s wings. “The upgrade isn’t complete,” he said.

“It will wait for morning,” Steve said. “You work too hard. You should get to relax.”

Tony hesitated, hands sliding over the joints of the Falcon wings. He looked at Bucky. Bucky looked back, impassive. Tony’s choice.

“Yes,” Tony said. “We will come.”

Steve looked pleased. Bucky smiled, too. Tony felt the warmth of a correct choice.

The Avengers greeted them as if they were friends, happy to have them there. They were given a seat on a small, two-person couch. Tony sensed that was Natasha’s doing; she seemed to understand more than the others.

When they sat on the couch, Bucky put his arm around Tony’s shoulders, drawing him close. Tony stiffened a little, out of habit, and then relaxed into it.

The TV show made no sense, and its science was execrable. When Tony was finally unable to hold his peace and complained, Bruce looked around at him with a wide grin. “Thank you! I’ve been telling these guys this for  _months!_ ”

Sam threw popcorn at Bruce. “It’s TV, the science doesn’t have to make sense! Just go with it, man!”

Bruce held out a hand in demonstration and looked at Tony with raised eyebrows. Tony couldn’t quite suppress a soft laugh, or a happy wriggle. He had won Bruce’s regard.

Bucky squeezed him a little closer, and that felt like a reward. “That’s my Mechanic,” he murmured, low, for Tony’s ears only.

They watched another TV show. It, too, made no sense, but at least it broke no laws of physics. By the time it was done, Tony was lying half-draped across Bucky’s chest. It was allowed. No one seemed to be upset by it. Steve, in fact, was watching them with a small smile, as if he were pleased.

***

“I’ve been remembering more,” Bucky told him as they were changing for bed.

“Tell me,” Tony said. He sat on the side of his bed.

“Steve was… He was always good,” Bucky said. “Not always  _smart_. But  _good_. He wanted to help people.”

“Even if they didn’t deserve it?”

Bucky sat next to Tony, took his hand and laced their fingers together. “Steve thought everyone deserved help,” Bucky said. “Except maybe bullies. The kind of people who hurt others just to get their way, or just to be mean.”

Tony mulled that for a while, half-distracted by the slow stroke of Bucky’s thumb against his. “Hydra hurt us,” he said, finally. “Were they bullies?”

“Yeah,” Bucky said. “They made me hurt you, even though I didn’t want to.”

The Avengers hadn’t hurt them, but they hurt Hydra, when it was possible.  _History is written by the winners._ Who had said that? Maybe the Avengers were just stronger bullies. “Are the Avengers better?”

“Think so.” Bucky lifted Tony’s hand and pressed a soft kiss to his knuckles. “Wish you could remember, too.”

Natasha had shown Tony a set of photographs, people Tony had known before he’d been with Hydra, she’d said. Most of them had been unfamiliar. One or two made his head hurt to look at, but didn’t fill him with the spark of recognition. He shook his head. “I’m not like you,” he said. “I might not get it back, what they took from me.”

“That’s okay,” Bucky said. “You’re mine, and I’m yours. No matter what.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.” Bucky let go of Tony’s hand and brushed his fingers down the side of Tony’s face. “Can I kiss you?”

“Yes.” The word hadn’t fully left his lips before Bucky’s hand was under his chin, turning him toward Bucky.

Bucky’s eyes were wide and dark in the dim light, calm and slightly crinkled at the corners with a smile. “My Mechanic,” he said fondly, and pressed his lips to Tony’s.

Tony’s body seemed to move without his direction. He twisted closer to Bucky, one hand pushing into Bucky’s thick hair, the other curling around Bucky’s neck. His mouth fell open and Bucky licked into it, tentatively at first and then with more certainty, more passion.

Bucky’s arm was around his waist, holding him close, as Bucky explored his mouth, slow and thorough.

When Bucky pulled away at last, Tony’s eyes fluttered open – when had he closed them? – and Bucky was already watching him. “What is it?” Bucky asked.

“I think… I remember kissing someone,” Tony said slowly. He prodded at the memory. He didn’t know who it was, barely remembered anything but the feel of lips under his, the warm press of a body that definitely wasn’t Bucky’s. “Before.”

“So they didn’t take everything,” Bucky said. He kissed Tony again, short and sweet. “Maybe you’ll get more of it back.”

“Maybe,” Tony allowed. Biology wasn’t his science, but he knew enough to know that brains were strangely resilient, sometimes. “I’m still your Mechanic.”

“Always,” Bucky promised.


	7. 23-Jul-2018: Wedding Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Rating:** T
> 
> **Prompt:** Ahh prompts are open! Okay so I'd love a fake relationship AU where its actually Bucky that needs Tony to be his fake date! Everyone expects it not to work but then Tony, who was disowned but still was raised in high society, to easily charm Bucky's family be generally awesome and then Buckys like "oh shit I love him"! Happy ending please! Love all you wonderful writers and artists! --the-flightoficarus
> 
> **Warnings:** None

Tony checked the time on the library clock. He still had most of an hour before he had to leave for work; that was enough time to get most of his physics homework done. He cracked the book and turned his notebook to a fresh page. It didn’t matter if most of this was old hat; homework counted for a grade, and Tony needed to have good grades if he was going to hope for a scholarship to college in the fall.

It was a thing he hadn’t worried about before he’d won Emancipated Minor status and been disinherited. He hadn’t really planned to spend his last year of high school sleeping on the Rogers’ fold-out couch, splitting most of his waking hours between school and work, but it was worth it just to be away from Howard.

“Tony, psst.”

Tony looked up to scowl at Bucky Barnes, all-star athlete and Steve’s best friend, and one of the reasons Tony only went back to the Rogers’ apartment to sleep. Bucky had it all. He was handsome, smart, and popular. He usually spent the hours after school hanging out with Steve. “What?” Tony demanded ungraciously.

Bucky sat in the chair across from him and leaned in close. “Got a favor to ask.”

“What is it?” Tony couldn’t imagine what he had that Bucky could want. Not anymore.

“Okay, so, uh.” Bucky pushed his fingers through his hair. “See, my cousin Rachel’s getting married in a few weeks. And she’s got this friend, Jeannie, who’s gonna be her maid of honor. And, um. Don’t laugh at me, now.”

“No promises.”

Bucky grimaced. “When I was, I dunno, like eight? And she was… eleven, I guess. All us kids were hangin’ around together – my aunt was basically the summer babysitter for a whole bunch of us when we were little, you know?”

Tony didn’t know; he’d spent his childhood summers at expensive camps or wandering the halls of the house trying to avoid his father. But he could guess. “Yeah, go on.”

“Anyway, Rach and Jeannie were always draggin’ me along with whatever they wanted to do, and they wanted to play wedding, so they made me pretend to be the groom.”

Tony smirked. “Cute.”

“Yeah, well, Jeannie made me promise that when we grew up, I’d marry her for real.”

Tony laughed, then ducked his head when the librarian shot them a glare. “What’s the got to do with me?”

“I’m gettin’ to it. See, every time I see her, she thinks it’s funny to remind me of it, and I was just goin’ along with it for the longest time, and somehow she got it into her head that it was serious. And normally I’d just avoid her, but it’s Rach’s  _wedding_ , y’know? There’s only so far I can go “

“Man up, Barnes,” Tony said. “Tell her you’re not interested.”

“You think I haven’t tried that? And I don’t want to make a scene and ruin Rach’s day or anything.”

“So you want me to… what?”

“Be my date for the wedding,” Bucky blurted out.

Tony blinked. “I’m sorry,  _what?_ ”

“I’ve  _told_  her I’m gay, but she doesn’t believe me, or she thinks she can ‘cure’ me, or… I dunno. I know it sounds stupid, but she won’t want to make a big fuss, either. So if I show up with a date, she’ll have to leave me alone.”

“You might be surprised,” Tony muttered. “Why don’t you take Steve?”

“She knows Steve. She knows we’re just friends.” Bucky put on a pleading face, and that was just not fair. “C’mon, Tony, it’s just one night. There won’t be anyone you know, I promise no one else will find out about it. And you owe me. I covered for you last week when you skipped French to finish your history paper.”

“That was you?”

“ _Oui_.” Bucky smirked at him. “What d’ya say?”

Tony considered him for a moment, then sighed. “Okay, fine,” he sighed. “But this is bigger than one skipped class, so now  _you_  owe  _me_.”

“Sure thing,” Bucky agreed, looking relieved. “Keep her off me all night, an’ you can name your price.”

***

Bucky knew he was in trouble as soon as he saw Tony wearing a suit instead of his usual ripped jeans and wrinkled band tees. Tony was kind of cute anyway; the suit transformed him into something otherworldly.

Bucky swallowed a few times to make sure he wasn’t visibly salivating and then made himself saunter forward. “Damn, Stark, you clean up nice.”

Tony didn’t scoff or brush the compliment off. He beamed, holding out his arms as if showing off. “It doesn’t look half bad, does it?”

“I didn’t know you even owned a suit. I sort of figured you’d just find a nice shirt and a tie somewhere.”

“For a  _wedding_?” Tony tsked. “It’s fine, I was going to need a suit for interviews anyway. I found this at Goodwill, actually, and had some tailoring done.” He turned around slowly, letting Bucky zoom in on the seat of his pants. Tailoring, indeed; the pants hugged Tony’s round butt like the skin on an apple.

“What do you think?” Tony asked. “Willing to claim me?”

“And how,” Bucky admitted. “Jeannie won’t know what hit her.” Bucky wasn’t sure what hit  _him_ , for that matter. He felt half-stunned.

Tony played his part well, hovering close to Bucky, finding excuses to touch Bucky’s arm or knock shoulders or lean against Bucky’s side as they made small talk with other guests. When the music started and they found seats in the church, Tony snuggled up against Bucky’s side until Bucky put an arm around his shoulders.

Tony was just the right size to fit under Bucky’s arm, warm and cozy.

Once the wedding was underway, Bucky saw Jeannie’s gaze drifting over the congregation, searching. When she spotted Bucky, she smiled a little wider – a smile that faded when she saw Bucky’s arm around Tony. Thank goodness. Bucky hoped she’d just avoid them entirely at the reception.

Tony seemed to light up when they got to the reception, though, as if he couldn’t ask for anything more entertaining to do with his afternoon than spend it talking to a bunch of people he’d never met before. He only left Bucky’s side to replenish their drinks (“Sorry,” he said, pressing a glass into Bucky’s hand, “but the open bar is carding, so I just got you a Sprite.”) but where Bucky might have lingered with his own family or amongst their age-mates, Tony subtly tugged him through the room, talking to everyone who crossed their path.

And it was more than the easy chatter of “Wasn’t it a beautiful service?” or “How do you know the couple?” Tony coaxed people to talk about their jobs, their hobbies, their favorite studies. He’d cranked the charm up to eleven – and Bucky hadn’t even been aware that the dial went past five.

He even charmed Bucky’s parents, who’d  _met_ him before.

“How are you  _doing_  that?” Bucky demanded. “You’ve got the whole room eating from your hand!”

“Not the  _whole_  room,” Tony demurred. He slipped his arm through Bucky’s and grinned up at him. “This is an easy crowd. Everyone’s already in a good mood. No one’s suspicious or trying to work out an angle on anyone else. There’s no pressure. It’s kind of fun.”

Bucky kind of wanted Tony to stop talking to everyone else and pay attention to him, though. “Want to dance?”

“What?”

Bucky jerked his head toward the dance floor. “Dance. I mean, if you don’t want to, that’s cool, we can just say you’re one of those guys who doesn’t dance.”

“That leaves you open for the maid of honor to claim a dance from you, though,” Tony pointed out. “I’m game.”

Bucky took Tony’s hand and pulled him out into the dance floor, weaving between the mostly older couples. “I really do appreciate this.”

“Good,” Tony said, winding his arms around Bucky’s neck, “because you still owe me.”

Bucky grinned and gingerly set his hands on Tony’s hips. “Worth it. She hasn’t talked to me all day.”

“Oh my god, Barnes, could you dance more like an eighth grader?” Tony laughed. “Hold me like you mean it.”

Bucky felt a flush climbing out of his collar and pulled Tony a little closer, tucking his fingertips up under Tony’s suit jacket and into the waistband of his trousers.

“There you go,” Tony said. His eyes sparkled wickedly. “Try to look like you’d be grabbing my ass if it weren’t for all the old people watching us.”

Well, now Bucky was definitely thinking about grabbing Tony’s ass. That blush wasn’t going away anytime soon.

“Much better,” Tony approved.

They danced in silence for a few moments, and then, as the song changed, “Mind if I step in?”

Damn. Jeannie hadn’t gotten the hint, after all.

Tony met Bucky’s eyes and gave a barely-perceptible shrug. “Just one, though,” Tony said, and winked at Jeannie. “I don’t get to see him dressed up like this very often.”

Bucky sighed and took Jeannie’s hand.

“He’s cute,” Jeannie said. “How long have you been together?”

“Not long. Couple of months,” Bucky said. It was the answer they’d been giving everyone else who asked.

“You’re really determined to give this whole gay thing a whirl, aren’t you?”

Bucky rolled his eyes. “It’s not a  _whirl_ , it’s my  _life_ , Jeannie. I’m gay.”

Jeannie hummed, a sort of  _I don’t believe you but I’m not making a scene_  noise. “Whatever you say. How many of the old folks have asked you tonight if you’re planning on getting married?”

“Five,” Bucky snorted. It was sort of true. Three of them had asked hopefully, one had implied it strongly, and the fifth had squinted at Tony blearily and muttered something rude about  _that gay marriage nonsense_. “How many have you got?”

“ _All_  of them,” Jeannie huffed. “Some of them multiple times. So, you let me know when you’re tired of your little experiment, okay?” She kissed his cheek and walked away before the song had even ended.

“Here,” Tony said, materializing at Bucky’s elbow with a glass in his hand. “I talked one of the older cousins into getting a Jack and Coke for you. It looks like you need it.”

“I’m going to kill her one of these days,” Bucky predicted. He took the glass and gulped. The alcohol was harsh in his throat, and then warm in his chest. “You’re the best,” he sighed.

“You’d better believe it,” Tony quipped. “Come on, let’s go get some air. We can pretend we’re looking for a quiet corner to make out in.”

They ducked out of the reception hall and into some kind of garden. Bucky glanced at Tony sidelong. “You know, I… When this is all done, would you maybe want to go out for real?”

Tony made a face, and Bucky suppressed the sudden pang of disappointment. “I mean, if you don’t want to, I get it, that’s okay.”

“This isn’t really me,” Tony said, so softly that Bucky could barely hear him over the music drifting from the dance floor.

“What?”

“This,” Tony said, gesturing down at himself, then back toward the reception. “It’s not  _me_. This isn’t how I am.”

“I know that,” Bucky said.

“Do you?” Tony stopped and turned to face him. “Because you’re asking  _now_ , after I’ve spent the evening putting on a show, when you could’ve asked anytime in the last three years that we’ve known each other. So I have to say, if  _this_  is what you’re after, then you’re going to be pretty disappointed when tomorrow arrives and I’m back to jeans and a t-shirt.”

“I admit I didn’t think about it before,” Bucky said. “Okay? Seeing you like this maybe called my attention to you. But it’s not like I haven’t  _noticed_  you before, you know? I like you in scruffy jeans and t-shirts, and I like it when you’ve been working too much and you’re sort of sleepwalking everywhere and bumping into shit. And I like it when you’re going off on the teachers for being dumb assholes. I even like it when you and Steve get into one of your stupid arguments–”

“They’re not stupid,” Tony protested.

“Yeah, they are,” Bucky said, “but that’s okay, because it’s fun to watch you two going at it. And maybe I just realized that the  _reason_  I like watchin’ is because you’re pretty when you’re mad, but it don’t change the fact that I’ve been watching.”

Tony narrowed his eyes at Bucky. “Pretty when I’m mad,” he repeated.

Bucky nodded. “Your whole face lights up and you start waving your arms around and I just want to… I dunno, hug you or something.”

“You are  _expressly forbidden_  from starting fights just to rile me up,” Tony said severely.

“Aw, I wouldn’t–”

“And you’re required to side with me against Steve,” Tony added.

“Oh, no I’m not,” Bucky said. He held up his hands. “I’m not sidin’ with  _either_  of you.”

Tony pouted, which was unfairly cute. “At least when I’m  _obviously right_.”

“Obvious to you, or obvious to  _me_?”

“…Damn, I didn’t think you’d catch that loophole.”

Bucky grinned. “Does that mean yes?”

“You realize that between school and work, I don’t really have time for dating anyway, right?” Tony said.

“I realize you spend a lot of time at the library so it won’t be awkward that Steve and I are sittin’ on what’s basically your bed to play video games,” Bucky said. “I also realize you’re a damn genius and you could probably get the school stuff done in like half the time you say it takes.”

“A quarter.”

“See? Plenty of time for a few dates in there,” Bucky said. He put on his best pleading expression. “Please? Just give us a shot?”

“…All right,” Tony said. “But this does  _not count_.” He shook a finger warningly at Bucky. “No way am I telling our future grandchildren that our first date was a  _wedding_.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me online at: [Tumblr](https://27dragons.tumblr.com), [Pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.io/27dragons), and [Dreamwidth](https://27dragons.dreamwidth.org)!


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